E Shaw & Son (Shaws Coaches)
Our family business has been 'clocking up the miles since 1922'
Our family firm was founded in 1922 by Edwin ‘Teddy’ Shaw, the grandfather of the present partners, Jane, Richard and Chris. Edwin had an engineering background in Yorkshire but during the Great War he was transferred to Peterborough to work for Peter Brotherhood as a millwright. Edwin fell for a local girl, they moved to Maxey and took the momentous decision to buy their first bus, which was kept in Mr. Frisby’s barn on Castle End Road. They ran a local service into Peterborough along with anything else that came their way, including furniture removals! They couldn’t afford to have the vehicle off the road for long and repairs were usually made by candle-light with the help of neighbours.
A couple of years later they took a chance and purchased the house and land at 49 High Street (where we are still based). After the war Edwin worked hard to build the business back up and by then he was joined by his son, Harry, whose favourite job was as team driver for Peterborough United! Harry gradually took over the running of the business and it flourished under his leadership. He had a real talent for buying and selling coaches with many winter Sundays spent journeying across the country to “look at a bus”.
Harry died suddenly in 1981 and it was then that Jane, Richard and Chris inherited the business with Richard’s wife Carol joining in 2010 and his daughter Tory, joining in 2015. Our first holiday brochure was published in 1982 with just six tours, one of which had just six passengers (including our mum and gran!). Fortunately, the others did rather better and we risked increasing the programme to ten departures, and the rest, as they say, is history! We now run around 80 holidays and 400 day trips each year. It’s a source of pleasure and pride that we have some customers who have been served by all four generations.
If you have a story to share about your days spent travelling with Shaws please get in touch, we love to reminisce and to hear from old friends.
Our Values
- Care. To provide a friendly, uncomplicated, personal service to our customers. To support our team to progress and achieve. To work together with our suppliers for the benefit of all.
- Teamwork. We recognise and appreciate the contribution our team makes to the success of the business. A happy, trusted team, makes for happy, loyal customers.
- Respect. Understand the needs and wishes of our customers. Value the honest partnerships we have with our suppliers, many of which have provided us with sterling service for many years. Provide an inclusive and supportive work environment for the team.
- Responsibility. Safety is always at the forefront of our decision making.
